Greenspoint Area

[Nawfside119]

Why has the Greenspoint area continued to hold such a "ghetto" stigma over the years. Crime was prevelant at one time but now and days it seems to have improved. The mall seems pretty busy normally and relatively new housing is present and popping up near and around the area. Is it as bad as people are saying or are they just exaggerating?

[DJ V Lawrence]

Why has the Greenspoint area continued to hold such a "ghetto" stigma over the years. Crime was prevelant at one time but now and days it seems to have improved. The mall seems pretty busy normally and relatively new housing is present and popping up near and around the area. Is it as bad as people are saying or are they just exaggerating?

I think it's a little exaggerated. I thought the Greenspoint area was where the Panthers stayed during Super Bowl week. We would not house a team there that week if we didn't think the area was nice enough.

That being said, Greenspoint will need some mad renovations within the area to create new prestige.

[Jeebus]

I'm sure it didn't get its nickname of "Gunspoint" because of an unsually large number of antique gun shops. With that said, I've been told that since Allison came and flooded all the apartments in Imperial Valley, that most of the crime was washed away as well. I think most of the apartments are now owned and managed by a company called CityView.

I'm always suprised by the skyline Greenspoint has.

[rps324]

Greenspoint is ghetto and it hasn't changed, and it is not going to change.

One of my good friends managed one of the complexes on Seminar, off Imperial Valley, which the entire lower level flooded more than once while she was there. Allison didn't wash out anything that didn't float back in with the tide!

The landscaping has improved, the physical condition of the apartments has been rehabbed, but the clientele hasn't changed. The apartments along Northborough are rough too.

You have nice office buildings there, but as long as all those ghetto apartments exist, it will always be a rough part of town. I don't think the mall is doing all that hot is it? The last time I was out there I saw a lot of empty spaces, and of course empty anchor slots. Foleys, which in it's heyday there expanded at one point, now has a good portion of the upstairs closed down.

There have been rumours circulating at the Northwest Chamber of Commerce that the mall itself was going to be eventually converted into some sort of convention facility. I can't vouch for the validity of that, though.

[PureAuteur]

I've been in Greenspoint recently, and it's actually landscaped very nicely and the streets and sidewalks are very CLEAN! I was impressed. Maybe some of the apartments in the area are trouble, but the city does a good job of keeping this area looking nice, and it does. I've heard crime there is down and it's not nearly as dangerous as it was in the early 90s. I think alot of the crime that was on the north side got pushed south and southwest, because those are the truly dangerous areas now.

[worldlyman]

I used to work in the Greenspoint area for three months in 1993 at night, in a color separation graphics place near Greens Rd.

My feelings were that it was sort of a modern, sharp-looking if sterile area. It was not threatening to me.

Some yahoos there, rowdies here...some ghetto apartment complexes...but Greenspoint is certainly not Fifth Ward, not the stretches of Bissonnet or W. Bellfort going from Fondren all the way to the Beltway 8, if not past.

Greenspoint is OK. It's not Champions Forest or any of the other Champions but I wouldn't have it that way.

[mrfootball]

I used to work at Anadarko Petroleum when they were located in Greenspoint. It wasn't a bad area at all to work in during regular hours.

I do know that the crime rate is high because of the local population and heavy, HEAVY concentration of apartments in the area. It's not as bad as SW Houston or South Houston, but it certainly is a 'high crime' area.

[Metro Matt]

The Greenspoint area has some of the highest crime on the Northside of Houston, nuff said...

I really like the Greenspoint skyline though, if only the city would step up efforts to eradicate the riff raff & make it more urban & less suburban feeling. I wish Metro would hurry up and expand the light rail all the way to Greenspoint & Bush Interconntinental Airport, that would be a MAJOR step in rehabilitating this once nice area. The mall itself has become a majority Hispanic & Black hang out, you deffinitely won't see any White or Asian people there. I made the mistake of going in Sears one time & if you don't speak spanish, you'll have a hard time getting any kind of assistance finding something if you need it.

[fitzy24]

Why has the Greenspoint area continued to hold such a "ghetto" stigma over the years. Crime was prevelant at one time but now and days it seems to have improved. The mall seems pretty busy normally and relatively new housing is present and popping up near and around the area. Is it as bad as people are saying or are they just exaggerating?

I don't think Greenspoint is as bad as it used to be and they were exaggering then too. I remember a while back a friend of mine asked if I still lived near Greenspoint, I told her that I bought a house not too far from Greenspoint. She looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently she bought into that "Gunspoint" meme. I used to live there in one of the apartments in the early 80's when it was nice (at least to me). One thing I like about it was the skyline view (especially at night) from my apartment. The apartment where I lived was at the perfect spot. I felt I lived in New York! I drove that way a while back, I noticed that apartment complex isn't there anymore. I think there is a park there now. Most of those apartments used to be "adult only" apartments but there's no such thing now. Another poster said it was well kept and clean looking. I agree. I don't go through there (Greens to the Tollroad) as often but I think they really straightened out the place. I also hear the mall will get some makeup which is good because it would be a shame to let a nice and spacious mall like that go downhill. I hate that it was nickednamed "Gunspoint" but hopefully that description will be done with completely.

[rps324]

I don't think Greenspoint is as bad as it used to be and they were exaggering then too. I remember a while back a friend of mine asked if I still lived near Greenspoint, I told her that I bought a house not too far from Greenspoint. She looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently she bought into that "Gunspoint" meme. I used to live there in one of the apartments in the early 80's when it was nice (at least to me). One thing I like about it was the skyline view (especially at night) from my apartment. The apartment where I lived was at the perfect spot. I felt I lived in New York! I drove that way a while back, I noticed that apartment complex isn't there anymore. I think there is a park there now. Most of those apartments used to be "adult only" apartments but there's no such thing now. Another poster said it was well kept and clean looking. I agree. I don't go through there (Greens to the Tollroad) as often but I think they really straightened out the place. I also hear the mall will get some makeup which is good because it would be a shame to let a nice and spacious mall like that go downhill. I hate that it was nickednamed "Gunspoint" but hopefully that description will be done with completely.

It's not an exaggeration. At one time Greenspoint boasted the highest number of overall crimes in the city. I don't think it has improved much in the last 24 months.

Link

[TAK]

As someone who lives on the near north/northwest side (kinda) and has relatives in Greenspoint, it is NOWHERE near as bad as it used to be. Not even close. Even the 2005 crimes aren't anything like the 90s. The numbers of crimes may be high, but the degree of crime has certainly pulled back. There will always be more crime near apartments, but the "Gunspoint" name was earned, not just made up. Now, there is far less gang-related crime.

I still wouldn't move there...

[Pumapayam]

Yes, it is THAT BAD

Another mall shooting.

At least they can keep their Gunspoint reputation.

[RedScare]

Brilliant logic, puma.

And, you're an engineer?

[VicMan]

Puma: The mall shooting was likely a case where the victim knew the perpetrator.

Generally what scares people are murders that hit strangers.

Anyway, some of the issues with Greenspoint may have been pushed further north into ... Spring ISD.

[houstonmacbro]

Yes, it is THAT BAD

Another mall shooting.

At least they can keep their Gunspoint reputation.

I am just now watching that video on ABC13.

Really sad and senseless.

[VicMan]

From the article: "Lt. Albert Mihalco said the man confronted his girlfriend as she was opening the lingerie store."

That could have happened anywhere. Many murders involve people who know each other.

The murders that should be feared are stranger murders.

[houstonartstudent]

even if the victim knew the killer, this will probably be the final nail in the coffin for that mall....or at least sales will be way down for the holidays there

[fitzy24]

even if the victim knew the killer, this will probably be the final nail in the coffin for that mall....or at least sales will be way down for the holidays there

Final nail in the coffin? I don't think so. This could have happened anywhere and I am sure most people that shop there will realize that.

[mkultra25]

Final nail in the coffin? I don't think so. This could have happened anywhere and I am sure most people that shop there will realize that.

I agree, but the mall isn't exactly overflowing with shoppers either. My wife mentioned that one of the local radio stations was talking about how full the various malls were on Black Friday; they said Memorial City's parking lot was 97% full, another mall's (I forgot which one) was 99% full, but Greenspoint's was less than 40% full. Of course their parking lot is huge, but it's still probably the only large mall where you won't have to deal with packed crowds during the holiday shopping season. I went to Macy's there last year on Christmas Eve in search of last-minute gifts and was in and out in just a few minutes with no hassles.

I work nearby and eat lunch at the mall food court semi-regularly. I guess I have a different perspective since I grew up in the Aldine/Greenspoint area, but I'm always amused by how many of my coworkers (most of whom live in the suburbs) are leery of going to the mall because of the Greenspoint area's bad reputation. After the shooting yesterday, I'm sure most of them are even less inclined to go there. Perhaps I'm just jaded from many years of living in urban/transitional neighborhoods, but I've never felt the slightest bit unsafe at the mall, even at night.

[sevfiv]

KPRC is reporting that the mall murder was random:

The gunman behind a fatal shooting at a north Houston mall set a fire at his job and called his ex-wife before choosing his victim at random, police told KPRC Local 2.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/14725881/detail.html

[VicMan]

Yeah, I found this on ABC too: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=5791707

Now he sounds like a deranged psychopath... WHAT is going on?